Redcliffe Life

An appetite for learning and discovery is central to our teaching philosophy here at Redcliffe School, with individuality and independent thinking actively encouraged through our Values.

Redcliffe offers girls and boys, aged 2 1/2 to 11, the opportunities and resources to be confident, enabling them to exploit their natural potential in a happy and relaxed atmosphere. Our reputation of being among the best preparatory schools in Chelsea is one of which we are immensely proud.

Our pupils enjoy a rich, diverse and contemporary British curriculum, which encourages a balanced and confident approach to learning. We place great emphasis on encouraging children to become courageous, persevering and resilient learners. The teaching of our Redcliffe Values which encompass kindness, respect, tolerance and democracy is a vital component of our educational provision. Lessons are designed to cater for all learning styles, with each individual child’s specific needs taken into account.

Our teaching is enriched in the classrooms throughout the school with the aid of computers, interactive whiteboards and iPads. Specialist teaching is provided for French, music, art, sport, drama and ballet with LAMDA public speaking also on offer. For the older girls English, maths and science are also taught by specialist teachers. Our sporting curriculum is varied and we are proud of our record of achievement in sporting matches against other local schools.

Service for others engendering community spirit is a vital part of our education here at Redcliffe. Our annual Harvest Festival with fundraising for the local Foodbank and cooking for the Night Shelter gives our children an opportunity to think of others. Each year the School Parliament holds a democratic election to allow everyone here to elect our annual school charity.

Our Curriculum

In the curriculum at Redcliffe children enjoy a rich array of subjects, both in lessons and within our varied co-curricular programme. The following gives a brief summary of what is on offer.

The Early Years

Redcliffe’s Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) programme in the Pre-Prep (Robins and Kingfishers) covers all aspects of learning and development as set out in the Government’s EYFS Strategy Document.

At this stage of their education, Redcliffe children are already being encouraged to make their own choices, to think for themselves and to look out for each other. Through fun activities and enjoyable challenges they each learn to share, to appreciate the world and their environment, and to improve their communication, language, numeracy and literacy skills.

Dance and exercise enhance their physical well-being with fine motor skills developed through a multitude of creative activities. By participating in our special events, pre-prep pupils also enjoy the hugely extended programme of enriched learning happening throughout the school.

From Year 1 (Skylarks) upwards, our pupils follow the National Curriculum, with the Common Entrance Syllabus providing enhancement of this work in later years. Our Director of Studies and form teachers support the preparation of Redcliffe boys and girls for public examinations. The boys are prepared for the 8+ prep school examinations, while the girls are prepared for the 11+ Common Entrance examinations for London day schools and boarding schools.

Form & Subject Teaching

Academic subjects are taught by form teachers with specialist staff teaching music, French and PE. In Years 5 and 6 additional specialist teaching is taught in maths, English, science and drama. Assistants are available in all classes up to Year 3 (Coleridge) and our small class sizes ensure that individual needs are catered for.

Learning Enrichment

For us the National Curriculum is only the starting point of our children’s educational journey with termly outings, residential trips, musicals, drama and sporting events all part of their scholastic adventure.

Our location in the heart of London gives us access to a wealth of history, geography and natural environments. Recent trips have included exploring the pond life of the Wetland Centre, dressing as knights and kings at Windsor Castle, discovering Darwin and evolution at the Natural History Museum, and using compasses to hunt for treasure at Juniper Hall. In the final years at Redcliffe our Bushcraft challenge is not to be missed.

We enjoy visits from children’s authors such as Steve Smallman, Ciara Flood and Jennifer Gray, who fascinate us with their literary excellence, captivating young minds and inspiring pupils with their own creative writing. Book Week sees our pupils dressing up as their favourite character, bringing fun, laughter and palpable excitement to all the classrooms.

Redcliffe also has special weeks with a particular focus on different aspects of school life. Our Science Day and Maths Day are particularly noisy and entertaining and our International Day is an excellent opportunity for some of our parents from other parts of the world to share their cultures and customs in our International Market.

Music & Drama

Dedicated music and drama teachers produce and prepare pupils for our amazing school productions. All Redcliffe children are stars with their part to play in shows tailored to appeal to every age group. In recent years they have delighted audiences with renditions of the Wind in the Willows, a Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Busy Busy Bethlehem to name but a few.

We have Senior and Junior School Choirs, along with a school orchestra and all our pupils are encouraged to take part in a range of musical events held throughout the year. Our peripatetic teachers offer individual lessons on the piano, violin, guitar and trumpet, in addition to singing, and these are available during school hours from Year 2 (Bronte) upwards. Children are encouraged to take external examinations in singing and music, and we are proud that music scholarships have been offered to our Year 6 leavers.

Drama is extended as an after-school club taught by a qualified teacher, nurturing and enhancing the children’s confidence and skills with them going on to achieve certification in LAMDA examinations.

Sport

Sport is a vital component of life here at Redcliffe with pupils enjoying a physical education lesson every day. Some sporting activities take place off-site and children are transported to these venues by coach. Our sports programme varies depending on the season with co-educational teaching until the boys leave us in Year 3 (Coleridge).

The Head of PE and Sport, together with specialist sports coaches, helps the children get the most out of each activity. Sports currently enjoyed include football, swimming, cricket, rounders, tennis, tag rugby, ball skills and gymnastics. Lessons teaching skills primarily take place on site, however, from Year 2 (Bronte) upwards Redcliffe teams enjoy playing on local sports pitches each week. Our Prep School pupils take part in regular football, hockey and netball matches against other local schools and thrive on the experience and the competition. Swimming and other off-site activities are reached by private bus.

Our Summer Sports Day, Swimming Gala and annual sponsored challenges provide much excitement here at Redcliffe. We practise great sportsmanship – with Our Values coming to the fore – and the children take a huge amount of pride in welcoming their parents to these events.

After School Clubs

There are optional co-curricular clubs running from Monday to Thursday after school. Children can choose to try a new club each term to maximise their fun and experiences. These are available to all children from Kingfishers (Reception) upwards and are very popular. Activities vary each term and include science, cookery, drama, art, ballet, music theory, touch typing and chess.

On Fridays, the academic school day programme finishes at lunchtime after which optional Sports Clubs are run until 3.00pm. A healthy packed lunch is brought into school for the children to take advantage of the opportunity to hone their skills in sporting activities ranging from yoga to football, tennis to ‘clip and climb’. These clubs vary with the seasons and the interests of the children here at Redcliffe.

“Redcliffe staff have done invaluable work with our daughter and we cannot thank you enough for the way they have all seen her as an individual and brought out so much in her. You have some exceptional staff and I feel we feel our children have been so lucky for the opportunities they have been given at Redcliffe and how it has equipped them for the next stage of their adventures.”

“We cannot begin to tell you of our indebtedness to you and to your staff for the positive impact you have had on our children and therefore on our family. Our son has thrived at Redcliffe, his teachers have been exceptional and we are delighted with the boy he is evolving to be, his level of curiosity, enthusiasm and intellect.”

“The breadth of education at Redcliffe is remarkable. My daughter seems to be learning about an enormously wide range of science and social studies topics as well as learning to play different musical instruments every year. Academics and pastoral care were key for me but these extra subjects are cherry on the cake!”

Redcliffe is a member of the Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS). A recognised kitemark of quality, IAPS represents 600 of the world's leading prep schools.